Why Can't I
by OreoLine00
Summary: Katie Bell has more than a crush on Oliver. Does he feel the same? After all, he DOES have a girlfriend, and it's NOT Katie. Not a KatieOliver lovey dovey story. Not one bit. From Lz Phair's song Why Can't I


(Disclaimer: I do not own the dramatic world of Katie Bell, nor do I own "Why Can't I" Rowling owns Katie and her world, Liz Phair owns the song. Props to both!)  
  
**Get a load of me, **Get a load of you,  
  
Katie Bell snapped herself out of her trance. She caught herself staring again. She hated when she did that.  
  
"It's not my fault he's so gorgeous," she muttered, realizing she was still on her broomstick, still at Quidditch practice. She hated that she would stare at him. But then again, who wouldn't want to stare at Oliver Wood. He was, he was. well, Oliver! She thought of their differences. The most important; he was seventeen, she was fifteen. It just wasn't right. He was two years older than her. Too old in most eyes. Not in hers.  
  
**Walking down the street **And I hardly know you **It's just like we were meant to be  
  
Lately, it seemed as though he didn't know her at all. That wasn't the case. They'd grown to be good friends in the four years she was on the team. She couldn't exactly blame him though. The Quidditch final was in three days. His focus was on that. But what about the weeks before the stress of the match. Aside from the few differences they had, Katie couldn't understand why he didn't at least show any feelings about her.  
  
**Holding hands with you, **When we're out at night, **Got a girlfriend **You say it isn't right, **And I've got someone waiting too.  
  
She watched as he flew to the center of the pitch and blew his whistle. He had such grace when he flew. He could have been born on a broomstick.  
  
"Alright, come in!" he called to his players who were scattered across the field. She hesitated a bit before flying to the center of the pitch to join the rest of the team. She placed herself next to Angelina, her best friend. "Alright. Good practice guys- err. and girls," he continued and corrected after an elbow in the ribs from Alicia. "Okay. The match is in three days. You know that this is my last chance to in the cup. You know how much I want it."  
  
Katie couldn't help but realize how amazingly deep his eyes got when he spoke, especially about the Quidditch Cup. It was like she could see his determination to win, just by looking into his big brown eyes. He finished the rest of his speech and they all showered and left for the Great Hall for dinner. It was then that Katie remembered why Oliver didn't have any feelings for her.  
  
Natalie. She was the reason. She watched Natalie as Oliver came up behind the girl, covered her eyes, and kissed her cheek. They had been together for over a month, and Katie hated her so much. She turned back around and stabbed angrily at her steak.  
  
"Oh cheer up," Angelina said, sitting next to Katie. "I don't know what he sees in her anyway. She's just a bunch of blonde, bubbly, Barbie doll Ravenclawness." Katie frowned.  
  
"No she's not," Katie sighed. As much as she hated to admit it, Natalie was as nice as can be. She wasn't some stupid bimbo. "Stop trying to cheer me up Angie. Look at her. She's smart. She's nice. She's tall. She's beautiful. She's everything I'm not, and that's why Oliver likes her."  
  
At that, Angelina gave a half-hearted smile. "Listen Katie," she replied. "Stop putting yourself down so much. You're smart. You're funny. You're nice. You're beautiful. I can't help you on being short, but remember this. He'll come around. Just wait."  
  
She then though of another thing keeping her from Oliver. Brian. He was her 'boyfriend' at home. They were on the verge of starting a relationship when Katie left for Hogwarts for her fifth year at the end of the summer. From what he knew, she attended boarding school in London during the year. Thoughts of Brian quickly faded as she got up and left for the common room.  
  
**The problem is, this is just the beginning **We're already wet and we're gonna go swimming  
  
She walked into the common room after giving the Fat Lady the password and plopped down on one of the big armchairs. She stared into the fire for a bit before sighing. She loved everything about him. His eyes, his hair, his smile, his voice, the way he walked, the way he flew, the way he said her name in that amazing accent. She loved it all. Brian meant nothing to her this year. She thought of it as a summer romance. Nothing more. Not since she'd seen Oliver get off the train the first day of school this year. Brian who?  
  
**Why can't I breathe whenever I think about you? **Why can't I speak whenever I talk about you? Katie had been staring at her now shoe-less feet when she heard someone enter the room. She didn't look up, figuring it was no one important. It wasn't until she heard them plop down on the couch in front of her that she looked to see who it was.  
  
"Bell," Oliver greeted. He wasn't in his normal disposition. He was upset about something. He sighed and stared at his own feet.  
  
"Hey Oliver," she replied. She felt her heart quicken a bit. There they were, Oliver and Katie. Katie and Oliver. It was an empty common room except for them. Her breath quickened, but it wasn't too obvious. "Oliver, what, what, umm, what's wrong? You're up you're upset."  
  
"Oh, don't worry about it Katie," he said, shaking his head. There it was. He said her name. "It's nothing." She could have just left it at that, but she wouldn't dare.  
  
"Don't give me that," she replied, shivering when she heard her name. Her breathing became shallow again. "I know something's wrong. Tell me. You.. um, you know you can tell me anything Oliver."  
  
"You're right. It's Natalie. We kind of broke up. She said she didn't want to hold me down from Quidditch. I guess she's right though. After all, the final IS in three days, right?" Katie frowned, but inside, she was secretly jumping up and down and grinning.  
  
"Oh, Oliver, I'm. I'm sorry. I know how much you liked her." She replied. 'Yeah, more than you think Oliver' she thought.  
  
**Its inevitable... it's a fact that we're gonna get down to it **So tell me... **Why can't I breathe whenever I think about you  
  
Finally. She didn't have to feel bad about her pursuit. Emily was out of the picture. Angelina was right. He'd realize she was way better than Natalie ever could be. Her breathing went back to its normal pace. Well, that was until he smiled.  
  
"Yeah," he replied. "But hey, what can you do. She wasn't exactly holding me down from Quidditch, but I couldn't keep my focus I guess. Do you feel all right Katie? You're a bit pale. Are you sick?"  
  
"No, um, I'm, um, I. I'm fine," she replied, trying to gain her composure. "Just a, uh, yeah. I'm fine. "  
  
**Isn't this the best part of breaking up? **Finding someone else you can't get enough of **Someone who wants to be with you too  
  
"So Oliver," she continued once she had herself under control. "I assume you'll be looking for a new girlfriend soon, right?"  
  
He shook his head. "I don't think so. The whole reason why Natalie and I split was because I can't handle both a girlfriend and Quidditch every day."  
  
She rolled her eyes. He was wrong. 'What if that girlfriend can handle you and Quidditch? What if nothing changed? What if she was me?' she thought. She didn't care if she was just a rebound girl. She wanted to scream. She wanted to yell at him. 'What's wrong with you Oliver? I'm right! You need me! You need someone to take Emily's place! You NEED me!'  
  
**Its an itch we know we are gonna scratch **Gonna take a while for this egg to hatch **But wouldn't it be beautiful?  
  
She smirked to herself. She figured that some time soon he'd come running to her. It would probably be tomorrow if not tonight. Why not tonight. It was going to happen sooner or later. Why not sooner? It would be grand. They'd be the perfect couple. Absolutely perfect. Unstoppable.  
  
**Here we go we are at the beginning **We haven't fucked yet, but my head's spinning  
  
She leaned forward in her chair, closer to him. Just the thought of the two of them together made her melt. The thought of him coming up behind HER, covering HER eyes, kissing HER, it was all too much. It felt as though she was the happiest person on earth.  
  
**I'd love for you to make me wonder **Where it's going' **I'd love for you to pull me under **Something's growing' **For this that we can control **Baby I am dying'  
  
'Katie Bell, it's time for the Gryffindor within to come out,' she thought as she felt a sudden surge of bravery. She got up, sat on the arm of thou couch he was sitting on, and tucked some dirty blonde hair behind her ear. "You know Oliver, what if you could find a girl who's perfect for you who won't get in the way with Quidditch? What if she's one of your team members?" He raised his eyebrows at her, fully confused. "Oh, come on Oliver. You know you're going to ask me out sooner or later. Why not get it over with?"  
  
"Oh, Katie," he replied in complete shock. "I. I'm sorry. I'm sorry if you ever thought that I like you in that way. I really am sorry. Don't get me wrong Katie, you're great. But Katie, you're fifteen. I'll be eighteen in three weeks. I'm really sorry. It would never work. I'm really sorry."  
  
So that was it? He didn't like her? She looked at her feet once again. "I see." she said. "I um. I have to go." She stood up and ran up to her dorm where she flopped down on her bed on her back.  
  
** Why can't I breathe whenever I think about you? **Why can't I speak whenever I talk about you? **It's inevitable, it's a fact that we're gonna get down to it **So tell me **Why can't I breathe whenever I think about you?  
  
She lay there in silence as a single tear rolled down her cheek. She was so sure he left Natalie for her. She hated him, yet she was still so in love. She smiled at the way he said her name. He'd said it twice. She started to breathe heavier again until she fell asleep, a smile ironically on her face.  
  
**Why can't I breathe whenever I think about you? **Why can't I speak whenever talk about you  
  
(I wasn't happy with the way this story turned out. That's not how I wanted the ending to go. It was just s hard to write it the way I wanted to. Oh well. review please. Don't forget to check out my Oliver fic, "Perfect") 


End file.
